BYU Suspends Jimmer Fredette After Photos Surface Of Him With A Pepsi

BYU lost another starting basketball player today  and this time perhaps the greatest player in school history  when the university suspended shooting guard Jimmer Fredette for a violation of the school's honor code.

Late last night photos surfaced on the Utah sports blog LatterDaySports.net showing Fredette at a Provo restaurant drinking a Pepsi. BYU's honor code prohibits caffeine along with sex, alcohol, tea and cigarettes. It also encourages BYU students to monitor the behavior of their peers.

Confronted by BYU officials this morning, Fredette admitted to drinking from a 2-liter Pepsi bottle. However, he denied rumors that he had slid into even harder substances, such as Pepsi Max.

"I apologize for my actions," said Fredette. "It's just that with games and practice and working out and mid-terms and everything I got really tired. So I turned to caffeine to stay awake. But I'm not making excuses. It was wrong."

Fredette also said that he tried Pepsi because: "I wasn't sure if I could go another day drinking only water and juice. My taste buds wanted to commit suicide."

Earlier this week BYU suspended Brandon Davies, the team's leading rebounder, for the remainder of the season for having sex with his girlfriend. And while many see the university's honor code as outdated, BYU is admirably enforcing it to the letter even while it ruins the basketball team's chances of reaching the Final Four.

"Our athletes know about the honor code when they come here and know they must abide by it," said BYU president Cecil O. Samuelson. "They know they must live like Brigham Young, the school's namesake, who lived a chaste life without drugs, alcohol, caffeine or more than 55 wives."